Wayne & Garth

Ben really wanted to dress up as Wayne and Garth for our church's Halloween carnival. But we both decided that letting our kiddies be the dynamic duo would be a heck of a lot funnier than us two. So very last minute, we transformed Tavin into Wayne and Eylee into Garth.

Tavin wasn't sure at first. He had no idea what Wayne's World was. So Ben spent Saturday afternoon showing Tavin funny bits and pieces from the hilarious movie. Tavin picked up the funny sayings of "Cha! Right!" and "Excellent" and once the mullet and hat were placed on his head, Tavin truly believed himself to be Wayne. Eylee fit the character of Garth perfectly. Shy and quiet while in public. We put Ben's fake glasses on her and didn't even touch her hair. That mop top was meant to be used for a Garth Halloween costume.

They were hilarious. They both eat up all the attention they get from us so they loved strutting around outside while I took some photos.

I'm so glad they let us dress them up that Saturday night. For Halloween next Friday Tavin will be Darth Vader for his school's party and then a Ninja Turtle for trick or treating. Eylee will be Elsa for trick or treating and is over the moon excited about it. 

Oh, life

Life is so annoying sometimes.

Can I get an "Amen?"

It's so amazingly awesome in one aspect and overwhelmingly crappy in another. 

I haven't blogged in a REALLY long time. The reason I haven't blogged in a really long time is because of one thing. Everything I type sounds like I'm a pessimistic jerk. And no one wants to be around a pessimistic jerk let alone spend anytime whatsoever reading their negativity. And I know there are a lot of people who have problems that are more serious than mine. But ya know what? This ain't their blog so I can write whatever I wanna'. And today is the day I have nothing else to do but play guitar and spend time on the internet. So...hellllllloooo, blogger.  

So lets make some lists. Two lists. One list for the amazing and one list for the crappy. And I think I'll throw in some cute pictures of kiddies here and there for kicks and giggles. Alright? alright. 

SOME OF THE AMAZINGLY AWESOME:

*Little Tavin is a beast on his bike. No training wheels needed. 

*Tavin started Kindergarten and loves every bit of it. His favorite friend is "the cool girl" in grade three who sits with him on the bus coming home. She reads him stories or they create their own funny story based on pictures in her books. SO CUTE He talks about her everysingleday.

*Eylee loves princesses. Eylee dresses up like princesses. Eylee pretends she is a princess. Eylee will only wear pjs that fit the following criteria 1.has a princess on it 2.is a nightgown 3. contains mostly pink We currently only have two sets of pjs that fit this criteria, a trip to Target or Walmart is necessary.

* I got a haircut! This is a big deal. It only happens once a year. 

*Ben is in his fourth and last year of dentistry. Yes, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. No, I'm not excited about moving and starting my life anew somewhere else. (sorry, that was meant for the other list)

*Summer was awesome! Fall is even better (well, minus the snow days)

* I'm almost finished with this season of canning. Then I can clean my kitchen and expect it to stay that way for more than a few hours!

* Tavin finally received his Canadian citizenship certificate in the mail. After 1 1/2 years dealing with the government, WE GOT IT! He is the first official dual citizen of the family. Next up, Eylee's American citizenship.

* Waiting for Tavin at the bus stop has become one of my favorite times of day. It's so fun to talk to different kinds of people for 10-15 minutes. Especially the elderly, they have the best stories. (and most interesting advice on kids and views on politics)

-Now for a break filled with two super cute kids-

SOME OF THE INCREDIBLY CRAPPY: 

*Eylee is refusing to take afternoon naps and therefore becomes a crazy little person with horns and sharp teeth at around 4:00p.m. Oh, you know, right when we have to wait at the bus stop to pick Tavin up. To actually get her to lay down, I have learnt that telling her a certain pink princess dress will be returned if she doesn't at least TRY to sleep. So far, great success!

* My waffle iron died. I don't think I need to describe the kind of heartache this could cause a waffle addict. 

*It's been cold and snowy. asdlfkjdaslfkjlasfkjaslfkj! But, it should be beautiful fall weather again. (It's not that I'm not a snow person, I LOVE snow. I love snow in winter. not fall. Fall is my favorite and I hate anything that shortens my crisp sweater weather - I'm lookin' at you Jack Frost!)

* I've been trying for 10 months on getting pregnant. Depression has seeped into me and I have the hardest time dealing with it. I've been getting upset over silly things I do wrong and I find myself being too critical on me, myself and I in every way. I'm tired of people commenting on how thin I am. I wanted to be having a baby either last month or this month. I want people to make comments on how I look like I could pop at any moment. I want to have a huge belly full of a little one kicking and stretching and annoying me while I try to sleep. So please, don't ask me if I'm pregnant. I'm not. Please don't comment on my body. At all. Because right now, I completely and utterly hate my body. (Pessimistic Pam? Debbie Downer? oh yeah. But remember, this is the incredibly crappy list) But don't worry, I can hide sadness super well with witty jokes and fake smiles, so don't be scared to approach me. I'm happier with others around, as long as we don't have to talk about getting pregnant.

So there it is! A completed blog post! A little bit of sad but a whole lot of happy too. 

Oh, life, how bitter and sweet you are.

                                         -The perfect rainy day song-

Siblings and Summer Jams

Last summer was filled with frustration for Tavin. His little sister was constantly slowing him down whenever we went to the park. She just couldn't keep up. This summer I'm the one left behind. These two play all day in the back yard jumping on the trampoline, shooting basketballs, riding bikes on the front sidewalk or playing with neighborhood kids. I have to keep an eye on them so they don't go to the park down the street without me.
Right now they're cuddled up to me looking at books while I type. Tavin is extremely interested in reptiles and amphibians lately and has his own "pet collection" of plastic lizards and frogs. He's constantly telling me interesting things about his pets and I have no idea if its factual or not.
Today, Eylee has already covered her arms in drawings with markers. She carries a notepad around and draws in it constantly. (She gets tired of that and eventually moves on to her arms, legs, hands, and/or face) She loves to sing and dance but nothing is as good as jumping on the trampoline. The trampoline. Oh, the trampoline. Best invention ever.

Of course they fight and have moments where neither one wants anything to do with the other but overall, they're the best of friends. Tavin protects Eylee from mosquitoes and sunburns. (he kills all pesky bugs and is constantly applying sunscreen to her legs and arms) Eylee cries for Tavin when he's gone to Preschool and is the HAPPIEST little girl when he shares his race tracks with her.

I'm excited to spend the summer with these two. And we shall spend it living outside.

Here's our playlist [JAMMIN' WHILE CRUISIN] that we've made so far for the summer. Most of it is dance music...because what point is a summer playlist without dance music?

A Little Vay-cay and some grade school poetry

So Ben got two weeks off before his summer intercession is supposed to begin so we began itching to go somewhere fun. Usually when we visit places we like to get a feel for what it might be like to live there. One place Ben is constantly talking about is Vancouver, B.C. so we decided to load up the van and have a little vay-cay with some family.


The city was AWESOME and it was so great to get to hang out with Mercedes and James. Even though Eylee got a bruise on her face from falling while dancing and Tavin fell off the stroller and busted his lip and I gained 10 pounds from eating super tasty food, I would say it was all in all a great vacation!

We did get home to discover someone had stolen our recycling from the winter. ....which I'm not happy about. I also found out that my professor for my online class cancelled the assignment of our last final paper that was worth 30% of our grade and is now only worth a few bonus points. I worked for a good two months on the paper including during our trip to Vancouver. Saying I'm "annoyed" is an understatement.

But I did write a poem about the recycling thief.

I call it...drum roll please...

"Finders Keepers"

There once was an old lady
who went out of her way
To visit me on a cold winter day

Hurrying speedily
to be quick and then gone
Searching for treasure
on my snow covered lawn

Why the need to be so quick you ask?
She was hunting for my recyclables
my bottles and glass.

With a tap on the window
I scared her off
She shuffled away
with a grunt and a cough

Months later in Spring,
I traveled out West
With my house locked up tight,
hoping for the best

I came home rejuvenated,
feeling brand new
With my house in order
and nothing askew

The following morning
I saw what I most feared
My recycling had vanished,
it was gone, disappeared

The lady had returned
with her shopping cart in tow
No stopping this time,
by a gentle tap on the window

Serves me right I suppose
I must have got what I deserved
She just couldn't help it,
recycling must be procured!


And, as always, a little video of our trip!
Thanks Mimi and James for spending so much time with us and making the trip amazing!!! We love you guys!!

p.s. the music is St. Lucia - Elevate. Eylee picked it out...which makes complete sense because she loves 80's music and St. Lucia definitely has that vibe.

Happy Easter!!

online schooling and other things

*this whole post is drenched in sarcasm and self pity, FYI

My life has lately been made up of early mornings with little kiddies, nap time full of text book reading and late night paper writing. I thought I'd start my last four classes with my writing intensive course, World Religions. What was I thinking?

no. seriously. I can't remember what the logic was in that.

The life of a mother in school.

It blows.

majorly.

why did I want to graduate from University again?

Isn't my husband going to be a dentist or something that makes crazy good money in just a year?

Oh! I remember!

To finish some stupid goal and setting myself up for further schooling or something...yeah the reasoning has left me..

And I find myself living only for the few minutes I so lovingly call "study break."

Which is what I'm doing now. Having a break from answering essay questions until I return to describe the reformist movements in Buddhism that have occurred in the post modern world! YAY!!! I can't wait!

And THEN, after ten more essay questions, I'll have another study break and I'll revise my paper on the origins of Yoga. So invigorating!!!

geez. I need some major meditation and yoga for my mind and body right now.

I'll be done on May 9.

May 9th, you can't come soon enough.


My current life:

Ah, don't worry. My children are still being taken care of and Netflix isn't being neglected as badly as it should be. And my youtube favorites list is growing longer and longer and longer and longer.....

My new favorite slow jams are covers of boy bands by other artists.

Now....back to Buddhism in East Asia...

Sledding & Snowboarding

We surprised Tavin with a snowboard Wednesday after he got out of Preschool.
His reaction?
A perfect four year old reaction of course.
He looked up at Ben and said, "Oh I love it! It's so beautiful and shiny!"
We went to a small hill behind his school to let him practice for a bit. The snow was falling and it was getting colder every minute but Tavin didn't care at all.
Ben helped him learn how to situate his feet on the board and after a little push, away T went. He made it all the way down and didn't fall until the bottom. After a few rides down the hill, Ben wanted to see if lil' T rode "goofy." I was waiting for him to flop over on his face but Tavin went down time after time not falling. I guess the kid rides goofy. (With his right foot forward)

We went back out the next evening and Tavin continued to surprise us with his great balance. He even started hopping around and talking about going down bigger hills. We went home that night and Ben showed him some professional snowboarders so of course my boy is begging to try out some of his "ninja snowboard turn flips." ...whatever those are.

Oh, and Ben came home on Thursday with a skateboard for Tavin. (which he practices downstairs in the basement) That kid is pretty fearless and obviously completely spoiled by his Dad.

I can feel some broken bones, scrapped knees, bruises, and maybe some bloody noses about to happen in the near future.

Oh well.

Little boys are awesome.